How Sprinkler Valves Run Each Zone in Maplewood Systems
Every zone in your yard has its own valve, and the controller opens it with a small electric signal. When a zone will not start or will not shut off, we find whether the valve, the wiring or the controller is at fault, and fix it.
Free, no-obligation estimates. We quote the whole job before we start.
How a sprinkler zone valve works
Each zone valve opens when the controller sends power to its "solenoid" and closes again when that signal stops.
A "zone" is the group of heads one valve runs, so a system with several zones has several valves, each waiting on its own wire. The controller, the box on the garage wall most owners call the timer, never touches the water. It only switches power on and off down the field wiring, and the valve does the rest.
Here is what happens between the timer and the spray:
- The controller sends powerAt the start time, the timer switches on the wire for that zone and nothing else.
- The solenoid liftsThe small coil on top of the valve pulls up a plunger and lets water off the top of the "diaphragm".
- The diaphragm opensLine pressure pushes the rubber diaphragm up off its seat, and water flows through the valve.
- The zone runsWater fills that zone's pipe and the heads pop up, while every other zone stays shut.
When the run time ends, the controller cuts the power, the plunger drops, the diaphragm seats again and the zone shuts off. Then the next valve gets its turn.
parts of a sprinkler systemFinding the valve box
Your zone valves sit together in a buried "valve box" with a green lid, usually at the edge of the lawn, and a box that is full of water points to a leak.
Most owners know it as the sprinkler box or the green lid in the yard. The lid lifts off, and under it the valves sit in a row on the supply pipe, each with its solenoid on top and its wires joined to the field wiring that runs back to the controller.
A little damp soil in the bottom is normal. Standing water is not: it means water is getting out at a valve or a fitting under the lid. Leaking joints are one of the first things the EPA WaterSense Sprinkler Spruce-Up checklist tells owners to look for, and a flooded valve box is where many of them show up.
Zone running with the timer off?
Shut the water to the sprinklers and call us. We will find whether the valve, the wiring or the controller is at fault and quote the whole job before we start.
We answer the phone or call back the same working day. A call outside working hours goes to voicemail and we return it the next working morning.
Valves that stick on or will not open
A valve can stick because of debris, a torn diaphragm or a failed solenoid, and a zone that keeps running with the controller off has a stuck valve.
A valve has very few moving parts, so when one misbehaves the list of suspects is short. These are the three we find:
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Debris in the valve
Sand, grit or a chip of pipe caught under the diaphragm keeps it from seating, so the valve cannot close all the way. The zone runs on, or weeps water at the low heads long after its run.
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A torn diaphragm
The diaphragm is a rubber disc that flexes every time the zone runs. Once it tears or stiffens, water slips past it and the valve either stays open or never builds the pressure it needs to open properly.
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A failed solenoid
A burned-out coil cannot lift its plunger, so the zone never starts. A plunger jammed in the up position does the opposite and leaves the zone running whatever the timer says.
Why the timer test settles it: with the controller switched off, no power reaches any solenoid, so water still flowing means the valve is holding itself open. Shut the water to the sprinklers until it is fixed; a stuck-open zone, a valve box full of water and electrical faults are among the common problems owners report to us.
Valve faults against wiring faults
A valve that clicks but passes no water can have a mechanical problem, and one that never responds at all can point to the wiring or the controller.
The click is the solenoid moving. If you can hear it when the zone is called, the power is getting there and the trouble is inside the valve. Silence usually means the signal never arrived. We repair sprinkler valves, field wiring and controls alike, so the test only decides where we start.
Stand at the open valve box while someone starts the zone at the timer, and compare what you get:
It clicks, but no water
- What it means
- Power reaches the solenoid; the valve is not opening.
- Where the fault is
- Mechanical, inside the valve: debris, the diaphragm or a stuck plunger.
- What we do
- Open the valve, clear it, and rebuild or replace what is worn.
Nothing at all
- What it means
- No sound and no water; the signal is not arriving.
- Where the fault is
- The field wiring to that valve, the solenoid coil or the controller.
- What we do
- Test the wire, the coil and the controller in turn and repair the one at fault.
What neighbors say after a repair
These are our Google reviews, as the neighbors wrote them.
Glenn with Rainmakers Irrigation is super cool, awesome and trustworthy. We are in Woodbury and almost the whole block on our street goes to Rainmakers for sprinkler installation, general maintenance, winterization, and spring startups. Their services are top notch, responses are timely, and prices are affordable. I would recommend Rainmakers Irrigation to anyone who is out shopping for a service provider to install, expand, or service an irrigation system.
Absolutely great company to deal with .I was quoted by a different company that I needed a whole new irrigation system rainmakers came out and fixed a leak and replaced two sprinkler heads and got my system up and running and saved me $2700.00 dollars .if you need irrigation work done give them a call there an honest family owned local business.
Always responsive...Always Fast...Always done right. LOVE THESE GUYS.
A zone that will not start, or will not stop?
Call and tell us what the zone is doing. We will test the valve, the wiring and the controller, find the one at fault and quote the whole job before we start.
- Free, no-obligation estimates
- We show up when we say we will
- We clean up when the work is done